


Ethics Are for the Morning

by flammablehat



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - America, Humor, M/M, Power Imbalance, Team Gluttony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-30
Updated: 2014-08-30
Packaged: 2018-02-15 11:18:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2227068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flammablehat/pseuds/flammablehat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin's adventures in teenager-sitting go unbelievably awry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ethics Are for the Morning

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently I wrote this as an option for challenge 7 of the fourth round of pornathon and never posted it. Arthur's 18 in this fic because Merlin and I both live for technicalities.

Merlin is finishing up some assigned reading under the guise of watching Morgana and Arthur and a couple of their friends while their parents are out for the weekend. 

They’re old enough that calling it ‘babysitting’ would be insulting to everyone, but young enough not to be trusted alone with Uther’s liquor cabinet. ‘Keeping an eye on the teenagers’ is a pretty decent way to earn some extra cash, so long as no one ends up getting killed or maimed by the time Sunday rolls around. Merlin simply tunes out the background noise of video games and chatter while he studies. Which, if he were back at the dorms with Gwaine and Elyan, is what he’d be doing anyway. 

All is postmodernism and boredom in Merlin’s world, until he catches a thread of Arthur and Leon’s conversation and falls into the listening trap (you know, that thing where you’re trying not to listen, so, naturally, that leads to listening even harder). Morgana and Gwen have made off with a bag of chips and dip to the superior territory of Morgana’s bedroom, and, in a move universal to all sixteen year old boys abandoned to their own company, they start talking about sex. 

Leon is sniggering as Arthur describes his perfect pair of breasts, and Merlin can’t help himself. It’s so sweet, and earnest, and young — so he laughs. It startles the boys out of their conversation at just the right moment for them to clearly catch Merlin’s muttered “You are such a _virgin_ , Arthur.” 

Which wasn’t his intention. Because he was speaking to himself. But they both hear it, and Arthur’s face goes bright red, and now Merlin feels like a giant asshole. 

Leon, because he’s a sweet kid and also intensely loyal to Arthur, doesn’t even acknowledge the comment. He just pelts Arthur in the head with a cheetoh and insults his lackluster chainsawing ( _Gears of War_ , Merlin thinks vaguely — Gwaine and Elyan are more _Call of Duty_ types themselves) and they turn back to their game like Merlin isn’t even there. 

Merlin watches them subtly the rest of the night, but Arthur’s shoulders never quite relax.

+++

Merlin is not expecting to be accosted in the middle of a dark hallway after the rest of the house has gone to sleep. He acknowledges, distantly, that it would be fair to call the noise he makes a squeal. Arthur claps a hand over his mouth, hustling them into the spare room Merlin’s been using. 

“What the hell are you doing!” Merlin hisses, flailing Arthur off. “Look, I’m sorry about what I said, but you really don’t have to kick my ass over it.” Arthur might be young, but he’s built, and Merlin subsists on the dust from his textbooks and Red Bull. He’s realistic about his chances in a fight.

“How did you know?” Arthur demands, and it takes Merlin a moment to figure out what he means. 

“Oh,” Merlin says. “Well—” and stops abruptly because Arthur is kissing him. “Okay, what?” he says when Arthur pauses to look at him. Then Arthur kisses him again, this time going straight for tongue-in-mouth, and Merlin has to gently disengage him. With both hands. 

“Have sex with me,” Arthur says. 

“I’m not actually a girl, you know.” 

“So?” 

“Look, Arthur,” Merlin starts, and is interrupted with another kiss, and Arthur smells surprisingly good, and he feels amazing, and— “I am not having sex with you!” Merlin breaks away, pinching Arthur’s lips shut when he starts to protest. “I mean, being honest, you’re really hot. And technically old enough. But maybe think on this one for a little longer than five minutes, yeah?”

“God, come on Merlin!” Arthur whines, rubbing his dick all up Merlin’s thigh, and _wow_ , not fair. 

“Fuck, you are packing, okay,” Merlin says, distracting himself with another kiss. Arthur makes a happy noise. Wait a minute! “Argh, fine, you manipulative little shit. I’ll get you off, how about that? We’ll talk about sex...later.” 

“Dad’s out of town again next week,” Arthur says, mouthing at Merlin’s neck while Merlin shuffles them over to the bed. 

“Christ,” Merlin says, skimming Arthur’s shorts off, and just. Fuck it. Ethics are for the morning, anyway. He gets himself a mouthful of hot, thin skin, right at the crease between Arthur’s thigh and groin. Merlin jerks him fast and tight, pulling away right as Arthur’s gut begins to clench. “Come on, you’re right there,” Merlin urges, pinning Arthur down when he tries to finish himself, and Merlin thinks there are some serious perks to being a virgin and a teenager because Arthur shouts, overwhelmed, when he comes on nothing more than his own aroused momentum.


End file.
